Chapter 1272 (2/2)

Reaper’s Mantle of Catastrophe. Man is Proud, But the Chimera Takes.

Congratulations! Your Skill Reaper’s Mantle of Catastrophe (L) has grown to Level 105!

An aura that was a thick mixture of ash, desperation, and small flecks of Nether spiraled in the area around the Grim Chimera’s body. He became the center of a destructive nebula that had a powerful suppression effect on images around him. Then he exploded into motion directly down at the field, piercing toward Straud.

At the same time, the Grim Chimera felt the Nether gathering formation that the main body had empowered after finishing the most recent Path was suddenly whirring at a higher intensity than previously. To the main body, and therefore to his images, Earth mattered. It seemed that it responded to the significance of the moment, quickly feeding on the expectations and emotions of the people who watched him shatter the barrier.

The Grim Chimera held the reigns to this moment that would matter, and it did feel good. His Nether density climbed slowly, but more importantly, the Grim Chimera sensed that a change was coming. His Nether Gatekeeper core was close to being saturated. But the rising significance of the current moment seemed to make that limit seem… fragile.

The Grim Chimera’s excitement increased as he ripped through the air. Just like the old days… time to fight until my mind goes blank…!

With a self-righteous scowl, Straud grabbed his robe and ripped it off of him. He threw the long crimson cloak to the ground, revealing the sculpted physique of a bodybuilder. Then he raised his bare fist and met the Grim Chimera’s rapid descent head-on with a vicious haymaker of a punch.

Which was definitely a brave decision, but a foolish one. The Grim Chimera’s bone spear hit the fist of Straud and ripped a large gash in Straud’s knuckles. In addition, the momentum that the Grim Chimera had built up smashed Straud backward. The ash and Nether swirling around the Grim Chimera scoured Straud’s body in the brief instant their blows crossed.

Still, Straud was indeed a powerful individual. He transformed the momentum into a backflip and landed lightly on the turf. But the clash didn’t slow the Grim Chimera and he impacted the ground only a split second later. Straud scrambled backward and avoided the shattered area of ground. Shaking himself off, the Grim Chimera stepped out of the crater and walked calmly toward his target. The rest of the fights were transfixed, staring at the confrontation between the two most powerful individuals present.

“You piece of shit!” Straud roared. A mixture of black, maroon, and crimson blood was gushing out of the wound on his hand at a speed and volume that seemed physically impossible for a normal human. There was something at work here, and it made the Grim Chimera frown. From that first strike… he could tell that Straud was weaker than he should be, considering the weight of his image.

As more and more blood left his body, the Grim Chimera’s lip curled in derision as he understood the reason for the weakness; this Straud was artificially boosting the strength of his body with his image. Very quickly the muscular Straud began to appear withered and frail without the blood image pumping through him. It was like a water balloon that had sprung a leak.

Pretty soon he would be all rubber and flab.

Worst of all, the clash had been such a let down after he had just finished getting excited to run wild. The Grim Chimera opened his mouth and commented spitefully. “What a waste of a powerful image. You truly just wanted to appear strong?”

“Hemoglobin Blitz!” Straud raised his hands and crossed them with his fingers twisting into rigid shapes. The veritable gallons of blood that he had already splattered across the turf in the few seconds of him being wounded rose up to form strange, miniature specters that rushed forward at the Grim Chimera.

Activating Chimeric Avoidance, the Grim Chimera didn’t slow in the least as he walked forward.

Congratulations! Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance (L) has grown to Level236!

His movements were mostly small sidesteps and sharp dips of the head. But with the extra 14 or so percent that the Grim Chimera could avoid the limits of the world, the blood specters didn’t have a chance to lay a finger on him. As though he were the true ghost, he flitted forward amongst them without ever being hit with the attack.

After he passed unscathed through the swarm of specters, the Grim Chimera glanced behind him in contempt. I’d love to feed you to the Implacable Price of Exodus, but since Yggdrasil isn’t here… don’t mind if I do. Cursed Appetite of a Wraith.

Congratulations! Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith (L) has grown to Level 275

The Grim Chimera opened his mouth and breathed deeply of the images and energies of Earth. In his chest, the significance of this moment steadily grew as small slivers of everything became a part of him. There was a shuddering tremor through his Nether Gatekeeper core, but the Grim Chimera ignored it for now.

The surrounding images shivered and then slowly waned as the Grim Chimera’s reach seized a little bit of strength from each of them. But as the nearest source of energy, the blood specters screeched and died almost instantly when the pull of the Grim Chimera’s breath hit them, becoming small wisps of energy that were dragged into his mouth.

Such was the power of the pull that even the crimson flows of blood that were being dragged through the air stilled as the Grim Chimera breathed in. The flush on Straud’s face slowly faded to paleness as some of his potency was pulled away too. All that energy flooded through the Grim Chimera’s veins, solidifying this moment even further. And yet…

The Grim Chimera’s mouth twisted. He had taken from enemies and allies of Earth alike, and while there were some potent energies, the result was disappointing. Is this all these people have? I suppose this is why the main body is willing to risk their lives to force them to grow stronger...